Processing and characterization of hybrid composite HDPE with incorporation of microalgae and montmorillonite clay
High density polyethylene; microalgae; organophilic montmorillonite clay; silver nanoparticles; hybrid composites
Composite materials are formed by several phases of different compositions, in which the interaction interaction between these materials is one of the factors that determine the properties the final properties, therefore, the study and modification of interfacial interactions are extremely important for their development. Therefore, the aim of this work was to obtain hybrid composites of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) with variations of fillers between microalgae (Algae), organofilized montmorillonite clay (MMT), montmorillonite clay treated with silver nanoparticles (MMT-Ag), as well as the use of polyethylene grafted with maleic anhydride (PE-g-MAH) as a reactive compatibilizer, with a view to studying the interactions present between the interface of the matrix with the reinforcements and/or between the fillers. The formulations with variations of 2 and 4 wt% of seaweed, 2 and 4 wt% of MMT, 3 wt% of MMT-Ag and 3 wt% of PE-g-MAH were processed in a twin-screw extruder with D=16cm and L/D=40cm and injection molded to make the test specimens. Preliminary characterizations were carried out by Fluidity Index (MFI) measurements of the factory-made HDPE and PE-g-MAH pellets, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) of the fillers and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the pure algae. After processing, the formulations were characterized by MFI, XRD, XRF, SEM and Shore D hardness. The MFI results showed that the addition of seaweed increased fluidity, while the MMT fillers and the PE-g-MAH decreased the fluidity of the composites. The XRD results showed the partial disappearance of the clay's characteristic peak for the HDPE/Algae/MMT (100/2/2) and HDPE/Algae/MMT (100/4/2) samples, which indicated partial exfoliation of the clay in the polymer matrix. On the other hand, the HDPE/MMT (100/4) sample was indicative of the formation of a microcomposite. Finally, the Shore D hardness results showed that adding algae to the formulations reduced the hardness of the material, while adding clay increased it.